UN sends more staff to central African Republic

The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday it has deployed additional emergency teams in the Central African Republic (CAR), where more than 200,000 people have been forcibly displaced by violence in the last two weeks in the embattled capital, Bangui. “In Bangui, our staff are reporting continued shooting and a mood of widespread fear,” U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Adrian Edwards said in Geneva. Edwards said many of the displaced report witnessing atrocities, including killing, looting, and breaking into homes. He also noted reports of attacks between Christians and Muslims. Meanwhile, the UNHCR is extremely concerned by the presence of armed men within sites hosting displaced people. The agency has asked that French and African peacekeepers increase patrols in troubled neighborhoods and the makeshift camps.